In a stunning series of announcements last night, long time, veteran Democratic Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn) will not seek re-election. 

Senator Dorgan released a statement saying in part, "It has been a special privilege to serve with Senator Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy, who do an outstanding job for our state. And although he inherited an economy in serious trouble, I remain confident that President Obama is making the right decisions to put our country back on track.
Further, my decision has no relationship to the prospect of a difficult election contest this year. Frankly, I think if I had decided to run for another term in the Senate I would be reelected."

"But I feel that after serving 30 years, I want to make time for some other priorities. And making a commitment to serve in the Senate for the next seven years does not seem like the right decision for me."

The story on Senator Dodd was broken by the Washington Post and will be announced later today at a press conference.  However, realistically both Senators were down in the polls for a couple of years now and anti-incumbent feelings are prominent across the country, especially for Senator Dodd who had moved his family to Iowa in 2008, angering his Connecticut constituents so that he could run to be the Democratic nominee for President, as well as being connected to some shady financial dealings.

There is no word yet as to who the Democrats will find to replace such senior candidates for office, but with growing national discontent with incumbents in general it may be better for Democrats as a whole that these individuals step down.

We'll bring you more as it's released.